Otherworld Nights Read Online Free

have him right there, at her side, after such a traumatic event.
    “And the other boy?” he asked. “Is he all right? The burns … second-degree you said?”
    She stared hard at Vasic. “Does that surprise you?”
    He blinked.
    “It doesn’t, does it? You knew this could happen. These changes you mentioned, that’s what you meant. That it would get worse. That he’d start inflicting real burns.”
    His gaze went to the patio doors. The rain beat against them, the harsh patter backlit by lightning and the rumble of distant thunder. “May we …?” He gestured at the doors. “Another room, perhaps. Less … distraction.”
    She took him into the living room. “You knew this could happen,” she repeated before he could change the subject.
    “Someday, yes. But not at this age. He’s so young. I’ve never …” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lyndsay. That sounds inadequate, but I made an error in judgment, and I feel terrible about it. I knew Adam was displaying his pow—abilities at an early age, much younger than I usually see, but I misjudged the speed at which he could progress. I did intend to contact you, in a few months, after you’d had time to …”
    “Calm down?” she said, crossing her arms. “Stop being such a demanding bitch?”
    He flinched at her language.
    She moved to the couch, subconsciously getting distance before letting loose the bomb. “Adam didn’t burn anyone, Dr. Vasic. I just wanted to hear you admit that he could.”
    Vasic straightened sharply.
    “You’ve just told me that my son could—will—someday be able to inflict serious damage with these ‘abilities’ of his. Now I think I have the right to know what’s going on. If you refuse that, I can make things very unpleasant for you at Stanford—”
    “There’s no need to resort to threats, Ms. Lyndsay,” Vasic said, his voice taking on an unexpected edge.
    “I don’t want to, but this is my son, and I need to know what he’s going through.”
    He met her gaze. “What good will that do, Ms. Lyndsay? A label isn’t going to give you a cure. There is none. It won’t help you look after him and keep him safe, no better than you can do—and are doing—now. What will a label do for you? How will an explanation help?”
    “It will help me understand my son.”
    “Will it?” His gaze bored into hers. “And what if this ‘label’ changed the way you saw Adam, changed your feelings for him?”
    She met his gaze. “Not possible.”
    They argued for another hour. Three times Vasic said he was leaving. Once he got as far as the front stoop. But when Talia showed no signs of backing down and letting him help Adam without an explanation, he led her into the kitchen to stand by the patio doors.
    For a minute, he just stared out at the storm. The look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. It was the same look Adam got when he stared into a fire.
    “Do you like storms, Ms. Lyndsay?” Vasic asked softly.
    “I … guess so. I’m not afraid of them, if that’s what you mean.”
    “But they can be things to fear. Incredible power for destruction. Like fire. Beautiful from a distance, but devastating if uncontrolled. That’s the key, to storms and fire. Control.” He glanced over at her. “I can teach Adam to control his powers. As for the source of that power …” He looked her square in the eye. “I think you already know what it is; you’re just too rational to believe it.”
    “I don’t know what—”
    “I’m talking about? Good. It’s better that way. Safer. For you. There is absolutely no need for you to know the source of Adam’s powers, Talia. You don’t need to know that to help him. Knowing will change …” He looked back out the window. “Everything.”
    “I don’t care.”
    He opened the patio doors and stepped outside. When he reached the far side of the plant-choked patio, he beckoned to her. She looked up at the rain.
    “It’s all right,” he said. “Just